


Prince's Feather

by Librazenith (HerBrazenElegance)



Series: A Girl in the Garden [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-04-08 07:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4295940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerBrazenElegance/pseuds/Librazenith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leliana interrogates the Herald of Andraste. The Herald proceeds to panic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prince's Feather

Cade half-smiles, waving a goodbye to Josie and Minaeve after dropping off her research materials – teeth and claws and other pieces of creatures that inspired varying degrees of disgust in her as they were gathered. Glad to have them done away with, she makes for the chantry exit to check up on Harritt and see about some new armor.

“Herald – er, Cadence,” comes Leliana’s voice from behind her, interrupting those plans. “Do you have a moment?”

“What do you need?” Cade faces her with a friendly expression, welcoming another opportunity to get to know the spymaster.

“I was hoping to speak with you privately,” Leliana says carefully, guarded as one might expect of someone in her position. “It concerns your family.”

The friendliness melts away from Cade’s face, but she doesn’t shy away from the topic.

“Is something wrong?”

“No – well,” Leliana fumbles. “I’m sure your family is doing as well as ever, but I wish to discuss matters of them with you.”

“Josephine asked the same of me earlier,” she responds. “Is there something more I need to cover?”

“My job is to know everything about you,” Leliana says, a practiced smile slipping over her features. “It is better to hear straight from the source, is it not?”

She gestures toward the vacant war room, and Cade has no choice but to follow. A healthy dose of dread flows into her veins, but she remains composed as the door closes behind her.

“I understand your father was an experienced swordsman,” Leliana begins casually. “In his younger days, at least. Did he teach you to fight?”

“He did,” Cade says. “Although I was never all that great with the heavier blades. Much to his dismay,” she adds bitterly.

Leliana cocks her head curiously. “You did not live up to his expectations?”

“No,” she scoffs. “I didn’t. He’s much more fond of my younger brother.”

“Ah, yes,” Leliana says. “Well, these things happen, don’t they? It makes sense, then, that you should find yourself in mercenary work with Valo-Kas.”

“I was much more accepted there,” Cade agrees. “Despite being human. But I don’t lead that life anymore.”

“Right. You left a few weeks before what happened at the Conclave.” Leliana nods, pieces falling into place in her head. “What brought you there, I wonder.”

Cade eyes her cautiously and takes a quiet breath to calm her pulse. _Fuck, she knows_ , screams her internal voice, _she has to know_. She mulls over the question for a little too long, self-conscious that she’ll come across as a liar yet again, and she hopes that Leliana is a more forgiving woman than the Seeker.

“I learned a lot about the conflict while I was traveling as a mercenary,” Cade begins. “My family usually stayed out of it, seeing as there are no known mages born into my siblings or any relatives worth mentioning, but being out there and experiencing the world first-hand was… enlightening. I wanted to know if the peace talks would finally accomplish something.”

Leliana nods in understanding. “Your party leader in particular was a mage – a Qunari mage, of all people.”

“Tal-Vashoth,” Cade says reflexively. She frowns then, unaware that it had become a habit at all to defend Tethys’ pride in not having been born into the Qun. She forces the fond memories of her experiences with her branch of the Valo-Kas down, not wanting to dwell on the past. Those days were over now.

“Right,” Leliana says, noting the change in her expression. “It is fair to say you are comfortable with mages, then?”

“I thought this was a discussion about my family.”

“But it is,” Leliana says coolly. “These are all questions that go hand in hand, I assure you.”

“I’d prefer if you just got to the point,” Cade says, her patience wearing thin as her nerves about the situation increase. “All the interrogations since this thing was put on my hand are exhausting.”

Leliana agrees with surprising ease and redirects the conversation then. Her hands clasp together behind her back, making her look fairly imposing with her gaze focused on Cade over the war table between them. A leader, if Cade’s ever seen one, and she feels her gut twist.

“Early on, when we were first investigating you, I learned of your background. That was simple enough – many noble families tend not to hide their secrets all that well, despite what they may think.”

Cade nods, following her line of thought uneasily.

“Your father is remarried after the tragic loss of his wife – your mother – several years ago, and through these women he was blessed by the Maker with five children; four sons and one daughter.”

The color runs out of Cade’s face as she speaks, unraveling her otherwise typical family history, and by the mention of her siblings she knows for certain she’s been found out. _Too easy_ , she thinks, and her blood runs cold at the thought of her future. She curses the mark, the chantry and the fade, the Maker himself for the circumstances allowing this to happen.

“His daughter’s name,” Leliana stresses, “is Elia, and I am to assume she still lives quite happily with her parents. The Bann’s eldest _son_ , however, is named for the Champion of Tantervale.”

Cade laughs mirthlessly. “He always did keep the bar raised for me.”

Leliana is calm and silent for a few moments, and Cade wonders if that was the response she wanted, if she expected her to drop the charade so quickly. There wasn’t a whole lot for her to say, anyway. With the threat of death hanging higher over her head now than it ever seemed to with the presence of the Breach, all Cade can do is submit to fate.

“Blood magic, and the support of blood mages, is a very serious matter,” Leliana says, and the words fall over Cade like the sharpened, eager guillotine suspended above its victim. “It does the Inquisition no good to risk such accusations, and with the prominence of your family name, the risk of exposing you is great.”

“I understand,” Cadence says softly, gaze sinking to the floor. “If you need–”

“We will have to find a way to cover this information up.”

Her head snaps up. “What?”

“You don’t expect me to let our opposition unmake us so quickly, do you? Man or not, you have the mark,” she says. “You are the only one who has any hope of stopping this, and I’ll not allow the controversy of blood magic to get in your way.”

The wave of relief that should have crashed over her is blocked by a wall of confusion, of pure disbelief at the words coming from the spymaster’s mouth. Cade sees the hint of a smile playing over Leliana’s features from her reaction but doesn’t quite register it for some time, and when she comes back to reality her first instinct is to check their surroundings, as if scouts might have hidden themselves behind the curtains, ready to jump out at the moment she drops her guard. But no such situation occurs.

“I have not yet told anyone at Haven of this,” Leliana says when she realises Cade may be a little too lost for words. “Not Cullen, not Cassandra… Although people will no doubt speak elsewhere if we do not act quickly.”

“Nobody knows?” Cade asks, something like hope brimming up inside her. “Just you?”

“Just me.”

“And you aren’t angry?”

“I’m furious,” Leliana says, pleasant facial expression belying her words. “After all the resistance we have faced so far, can you not imagine my frustration upon finding out that our savior, our Herald of Andraste, personally supports the use of blood magic? But there is nothing to be done about that now,” she concedes. “I may not approve of what you have done, and you know as well as I that this could very likely destroy us later should your family become too outspoken, but I will not let fearful wagging tongues be our undoing.”

Determination lights in Cade’s heart anew, a tiny flame of anticipation. “What do you need me to do?”

“Be as you have been. If no one here suspects you of anything more than causing the Breach, then you are likely in the clear for the time being,” she states calmly. “But do not give them reason to accuse you of anything further.”

“Be as I am,” Cade repeats back to her. “Should be simple enough.”

“Don’t think too hard about it,” Leliana says. “Pretend this conversation never happened. Just know that you have my support regardless of your past.”

Cade nods once and makes for the door but stops short. “Leliana.”

“Yes?”

“I appreciate this. Thank you.”

Cade searches her face for a reaction, but Leliana has become preoccupied with something on the map, avoiding her now that the conversation has ended. The mask of indifference has once again slipped over her, as one would expect of a good spymaster.

“It is my duty, after all, Herald,” she says. “Think nothing of it.”


End file.
